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9.11.2013

Kiddos Reading Material #4 - Going to School / Fall Time!

I KNOW it's been a while since I've written one of these for you, but hey! It was summer time!

There were so many books that we read this summer, that I should probably go back and write about all of those for you! BUT, it's Fall now (maybe not exactly where you live, but here in Maine, the nights are getting chilly and I'm honestly seeing some leaves changing!) and Fall means apples, pumpkins, pretty colored leaves, and going to school! (Well, for kiddos at least. I know it means lots of other things to adults!) But with the weather changing and Dude heading off to preschool soon, I've pulled out our Fall books, and loaded up on "going to school" books for the kiddos.

So on to the books!

The first one is: "Fall" a bright baby touch andfeel book.

I bought this book for Dude when he was a baby, and he loved it! Needless to say, Princess loves it too! There is something to touch on every page, with illustrations of a turkey, cranberries, pumpkins, and the super soft squirrel. Every time Princess opens this book, she goes right to the "walk" page and says "WALK" Obviously she loves it when we all go on walks together!

One of my favorite Fall books is: "Fletcher and the Falling Leaves" by Julia Rawlinson and illustrated by Tiphanie Beeke.

MAYbe I'm biased because of the title, but I LOVE this book! Fletcher is a young fox, who gets confused when his favorite tree starts "changing". He gets really sad when the leaves start falling off, and he tries to "help" his favorite tree by "putting the leaves back on" and by asking the other animals of the forest to help him. Finally all of the leaves fall off, and Fletcher takes the last one home to keep it safe.....then Fletcher is very surprised the next morning when he sees his favorite tree covered in frost! But he is in awe of how beautiful his favorite tree looks! A sweet, loving book about the changing of the season! And the illustrations are wonderfully done in watercolors, which you probably all know that I'm a fan of! AND there are books about every season with Fletcher!

Then there is: "Apples and Pumpkins" by Anne Rockwell and illustrated by Lizzy Rockwell.

With large, easy to read words, this would be a great book for kiddos learning to read, or just starting to identify words. It's all about a kiddo that goes to a farm with her parents, sees the chickens, gets to pick her own apples, gets to pick her own pumpkin, and then there is even a few pages about Halloween at the end!

Now on to the "going to school" books! (Excuse my while I choke up for a second....)

I never in a million years, when I thought of having kiddos and all that it would entail, even came close to imagining the extreme emotions of your kiddo going to school! Never, I never imagined it would be like this. And like I've mentioned before, Dude is only going to 2 HALF DAYS A WEEK! *sigh*

My, by far, favorite book about school is: "The Kissing Hand" by Audrey Penn and illustrated by Ruth E. Harper & Nancy M. Leak.

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Now, for a moment of ridiculous honesty.....I first fell in love with this book when I was 17. Yup, you read that right. I was in high school, working in a bookstore (craziness, I know) when I realized that the kiddos section for books was the place to be because the artwork was amazing! (Yes, at the time, I was doing a lot of art, and found a lot of inspiration in the illustrations of kids books.) I cried the first time I read this book. For many reason. The story is about Chester the Raccoon, who is starting school, but is sad because he doesn't want to miss his mom and all of the great things that he gets to do at home. So, his mom places a kiss on his palm and tells him that it is a magical kiss, and whenever he misses her, he can put his hand to his face, and feel his mothers kiss. *SOB* It didn't help that at the end of the book, the mom makes the sign for "I love you"....why didn't that help? Because my mom would always make that sign to my brother and I as we left on the school bus....hell, she still does that to this day as we drive away from the house. As you can maybe tell, when I was 17 and the thought that I would be leaving home soon was really hitting me hard, I was feeling ridiculously sentimental. REGARDless, the book is awesome! I bought this book for Dude before he was even born! And Princess was given her own copy as well! It is full of love, yet encouraging your child to try new things that you know they will love....like school. *sob*﻿

Then there is: "My First Day at Nursery School" by Becky Edwards and illustrated by Anthony Flint.

Another book about a child that doesn't want to go to school because she will miss her mom! Throughout the book she doesn't want to try any of the things that she can do at school....like paint, play instruments, or do crafts, etc. etc.....she only wants her mommy! By the end of the book, the child has tried everything...and you guessed it! She loves school! And doesn't want to leave when her mommy shows up at the end of the day! I'm sure many of you have experienced this, and I'm sure that I will too! Another book that encourages your child, and shows them that they need to try new things.

There are soooo many wonderful books out there about the season, and school, and all of the things that kiddos can do outside and what they will love about school, there is obviously no way that I would be able to tell everyone about them all! These are just a few of our family favorites to maybe get you started!

5 comments:

My daughter is way past these books in her reading level...but I still love going into the store and looking at them. There is something magical about a good children's book. Especially when it is about fall - my favorite season.